MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacked the regional leader of Dagestan, a province that has become the epicenter of Islamist insurgency in the Caucasus.

Monday's ouster of Magomedsalam Magomedov appears to reflect Kremlin concern about rising violence in Dagestan, which lies 550 kilometers (340 miles) east of the city of Sochi, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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Magomedov was named an adviser to Putin, while he'll be replaced in Dagestan by Ramazan Abdulatipov, a federal lawmaker who previously has held senior government jobs.

Magomedov, whose father led Dagestan for 16 years, was named regional president in 2010.

He tried to quell the rebellion there by promising pardons to some of the Islamist insurgents, but his efforts have had little result.